02597cam a22002777 4500001000700000003000500007005001700012008004100029100002200070245015100092260006600243490004200309500001800351520133600369530006101705538007201766538003601838690007401874690008501948690007302033700001902106710004202125830007702167856003802244856003702282w13529NBER20161209213122.0161209s2007 mau||||fs|||| 000 0 eng d1 aNiederle, Muriel.14aThe Effects of a Centralized Clearinghouse on Job Placement, Wages, and Hiring Practicesh[electronic resource] /cMuriel Niederle, Alvin E. Roth. aCambridge, Mass.bNational Bureau of Economic Researchc2007.1 aNBER working paper seriesvno. w13529 aOctober 2007.3 aNew gastroenterologists participated in a labor market clearinghouse (a "match") from 1986 through the late 1990's, after which the match was abandoned. This provides an opportunity to study the effects of a match, by observing the differences in the outcomes and organization of the market when a match was operating, and when it was not.

After the GI match ended, the market unraveled. Contracts were signed earlier each year, at diffuse times, often with exploding offers. The market became less national, more local. This allows us to discern the effect of the clearinghouse: it coordinated the timing of the market, in a way that increased its thickness and scope. The clearinghouse does not seem to have had an effect on wages.

As this became known among gastroenterologists, an opportunity arose to reorganize the market to once again use a centralized clearinghouse. However it proved necessary to adopt policies that would allow employers to safely delay hiring and coordinate on using the clearinghouse.